New Focus RS (opinions required)
New Focus RS (opinions required)
Author
Discussion

scoobydude

Original Poster:

750 posts

205 months

Monday 13th July 2009
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I've just got a theoretical insurance quote for the new Focus RS of 380 quid a year. This removes the only quibble I had about actualy getting one. Before I take the plunge, I just wondered if anyone has had any bad experiences with theirs which should make me reconsider.


Gareth350

1,557 posts

205 months

Monday 13th July 2009
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Mine arrived at the dealer on tuesday, saw it in the flesh on saturday & have to say its well worth the wait! Quashed any doubts i had in the 1st 5 secs of seeing! Just sorted my insurance & was also pleasantly surprised at the cost of £394 fully comp, im 38. Just got to wait until this saturday to pick it up! Dont know anyone who has been disappointed in theirs yet! Do it! Just make sure you get a dealer who is enthusiastic to sell you one! My dealer was top notch, 6 weeks from placing my order to it actually arriving at the dealer! Some people have had a nitemare wait of much longer! Good luck!

Edited by Gareth350 on Monday 13th July 19:26

scoobydude

Original Poster:

750 posts

205 months

Monday 13th July 2009
quotequote all
Gareth350 said:
Mine arrived at the dealer on tuesday, saw it in the flesh on saturday & have to say its well worth the wait! Quashed any doubts i had in the 1st 5 secs of seeing! Just sorted my insurance & was also pleasantly surprised at the cost of £394 fully comp, im 38. Just got to wait until this saturday to pick it up! Dont know anyone who has been disappointed in theirs yet! Do it! Just make sure you get a dealer who is enthusiastic to sell you one! My dealer was top notch, 6 weeks from placing my order to it actually arriving at the dealer! Some people have had a nitemare wait of much longer! Good luck!

Edited by Gareth350 on Monday 13th July 19:26
That's what I like to hear.

anonymous-user

80 months

Tuesday 14th July 2009
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I contacted the dealer who supplied my ST-they quoted an 8 month wait. Saw my first one on the road in mid Wales on Saturday, the green one, looked mint!!!!

Roop

6,018 posts

310 months

Tuesday 14th July 2009
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There are quite a few cars new and unsold in the dealer network now. If the spec you want matches one of those or you aren't bothered about a specific spec, you can get one reasonably quickly. Sadly, not so many over here, so no chance for me. It'll be 6 months or more by the time it shows up, just in time to clean it and tuck it away in the garage for winter grumpy

S26VE P

2,174 posts

268 months

Tuesday 14th July 2009
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Roop said:
There are quite a few cars new and unsold in the dealer network now. If the spec you want matches one of those or you aren't bothered about a specific spec, you can get one reasonably quickly. Sadly, not so many over here, so no chance for me. It'll be 6 months or more by the time it shows up, just in time to clean it and tuck it away in the garage for winter grumpy
will see what my dealer says on sat then. biggrin

RichyBoy

3,746 posts

243 months

Thursday 16th July 2009
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Roop said:
There are quite a few cars new and unsold in the dealer network now. If the spec you want matches one of those or you aren't bothered about a specific spec, you can get one reasonably quickly. Sadly, not so many over here, so no chance for me. It'll be 6 months or more by the time it shows up, just in time to clean it and tuck it away in the garage for winter grumpy
How do I find these unsold cars?

RichyBoy

3,746 posts

243 months

Thursday 16th July 2009
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Anyone know if you can heel n toe in the focus rs easily?

Gareth350

1,557 posts

205 months

Thursday 16th July 2009
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RichyBoy said:
Roop said:
There are quite a few cars new and unsold in the dealer network now. If the spec you want matches one of those or you aren't bothered about a specific spec, you can get one reasonably quickly. Sadly, not so many over here, so no chance for me. It'll be 6 months or more by the time it shows up, just in time to clean it and tuck it away in the garage for winter grumpy
How do I find these unsold cars?
Just a case of ringing lots of dealers, esp the large ones, you may get a lot of "no chance until next year!" but you may strike lucky with a cancelled order to the same spec you want. My dealer has found 2 for customers after showing them mine in the showroom, 1 for next month & the other for september. So if you perservere you should be able to get something, even if you have to travel!

sleep envy

62,260 posts

275 months

Thursday 16th July 2009
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RichyBoy said:
How do I find these unsold cars?
do a search on autotrader to shorten the list, there's a fair few available as mentioned

what spec are you looking for?

GaryST220

970 posts

210 months

Thursday 16th July 2009
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RichyBoy said:
Anyone know if you can heel n toe in the focus rs easily?
If the pedals are the same as the standard model, then you shouldn't have a problem.

RichyBoy

3,746 posts

243 months

Thursday 16th July 2009
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GaryST220 said:
RichyBoy said:
Anyone know if you can heel n toe in the focus rs easily?
If the pedals are the same as the standard model, then you shouldn't have a problem.
Excellent thanks.

GaryST220

970 posts

210 months

Thursday 16th July 2009
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RichyBoy said:
GaryST220 said:
RichyBoy said:
Anyone know if you can heel n toe in the focus rs easily?
If the pedals are the same as the standard model, then you shouldn't have a problem.
Excellent thanks.
Just read this on another forum, sums it up well;

"If it's the same pedal box as the ST, it's not ideal.

It's not like a 911 where the throttle pedal goes all the way to the floor, and of course the throttle response is instantaneous.

It also depends on how progressive the brakes are - too many modern cars have "grabby" brakes, making it difficult to blip the throttle while continuing even braking.

That said, the original RS didn't have a great pedal box either, but if you learned to use the width of your foot, rather than actually using the upper and lower parts, you could get away with it."

Get a nice wide, flat pair of shoes and you shouldn't have a problem.

sleep envy

62,260 posts

275 months

Thursday 16th July 2009
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I don't know if there's any adjustment to the throttle but I found it sat far too deep into the footwell in comparison to the brake - that would make my ankle ache after a while

Neil_M

702 posts

210 months

Friday 20th November 2009
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AFAIK the RS is the same. My ST Fiesta is the same, in that it sits too low frown.

Arun_D

2,331 posts

221 months

Friday 20th November 2009
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Heel and Toe is annoying in the RS, very silly spacing and height differential of brake/accel' is too much, but it's possible with a strech. The afforementioned Fiesta ST is much easier in comparison (used to have one of those too).

In general, it's a great car. Replaced my R26.R with one (due to niggling technical issues) 2 months ago, nearly (EDIT: Only noticed how old this thread is now!). Had some annoying niggles, but nothing major. Been in once for a clicking driveshaft, and it's going again on Monday to get a scrubbing noise in the wheel arch on full lock looked at (not the wheel/tyre, and most likely caused by their previous work on that corner). Also had to wedge foam underneath the scuttle panel as the symposer pipe (which routes induction noise into the cabin) was causing a rattle on full load)


Little issues aside, it's a bit of a sledgehammer, but a fun one. Not as taught as my old Megane, but just as much fun, if not more. Off to Bedford tomorrow for some afternoon track action.


Edited by Arun_D on Friday 20th November 18:27

CTE

1,517 posts

266 months

Monday 23rd November 2009
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Had mine on order since May....collected it Saturday after having serious doubts. The minute I saw the car I knew I`d done the right thing, although the rear end could be a little less blingy.
Mine is blue and looks superb. The fit and finish is excellent, the interior is excellent (maybe not quite VW standards but not far off and better than I remember), the straight line performance is plenty quick enough, although with modern insulated cars you can easily forget how fast you are travelling. The handling/cornering speed is way beyond what you should ever need on a public road...., but it is great fun and I cannot wait to get it on a track day. There is some mild torque steer, but it really depends upon the road surface, and can be confused with tramlining, but what do you expect with 300 horses? In the right hands, this is one blindingly fast car!

The only slight dissappointment is the exhaust is a little quieter than I expected, although I will appreciate the peace on longer journeys, which is what most of my mileage will be.

Arun_D

2,331 posts

221 months

Monday 23rd November 2009
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Congrats, and good to see another Blue one here.

Regarding the exhaust, it's insanely quiet, but for someone who's on trackdays semi-regularly, to me that's only a good thing.The sound symposer system makes it nice and noisy in the cabin when pushing it, anyway.

Mine was static noise tested at a paltry 76dB on saturday's session at Bedford(2nd quietest car on the day), so I'm quite happpy with that.



Edited by Arun_D on Monday 23 November 11:49

Gareth350

1,557 posts

205 months

Monday 23rd November 2009
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Agree, nice to see another blue owner on board! I always thought the exhaust too quiet as well! I have done 5000 miles now & I am getting more pops & bangs from it now than I used to & sounds great! Maybe it just needed running in! Hehe! biggrin

Roop

6,018 posts

310 months

Monday 23rd November 2009
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Gareth350 said:
Agree, nice to see another blue owner on board! I always thought the exhaust too quiet as well! I have done 5000 miles now & I am getting more pops & bangs from it now than I used to & sounds great! Maybe it just needed running in! Hehe! biggrin
Mine pops and bangs like a good'un. Some of them are bloody loud and sound like it's gonna blow the exhaust off. I wonder whether the de-cat cars get flames...? biggrin